May 2003                                                        The Megaphone                                                            Page 2

The Big Bands

by Dick Cleaver ‘47

  I am sure that we older Den members all remember the era of the big bands. Slow dancing to a great romantic ballad with that special someone at the Panther Den or at a lake resort dance pavilion . . . groovin’ and jitterbuggin’ with a hot swing band of the time . . . it was a happy time and was America jumpin’.

  Opinions on the period of their greatness varies, but 1937 through 1944 seems to cover the best years. Many good bands were broken up as members were drafted or joined the armed services. Probably the best known big bands were Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, and Harry James. I am using the term "big bands" loosely in that with various sizes, terms like dance band, jazz band and swing band were in use. Many of the bands had male and female vocalists who were featured in many arrangements. Vocal groups like the Pied Pipers, the Modernaires and others backed up the vocalists in a number of the larger bands.

  There are a number of good books that tell the stories of individual bands, one of the best being over 600 pages. However, to emphasize how broad reaching this era was, the bands are listed below. Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Harry James, Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton, Bob Crosby, Kay Kayser, Dick Jurgens, Vaughn Monroe, Freddie Martin, Claude Thornhill, Woody Herman, Spike Jones, Horace Heidt, Allvino Ray, Count Basie, Guy Lombardo, Art Cassell, Lawrence Welk, Jack Teagarden, Buddy Rich, Eddie Duchen, Woody Herman, Russ Morgan, Cab Calloway, Red Nichols, Clyde McCoy, Louis Prima, Lee Castle, Larry Clinton, Ted Weems, Shep Fields, Dizzy Gillespie, Glen Gray, Lionel Hampton, Erskine Hawkins, Jimmy Lunsford, Gene Krupa, Red Norvo, Leo Reisman, Phil Spitalny, Teddy Wilson, Henry Busse, Martin Block, Tony Pastor, Hal McIntyre, Chick Webb, Ted Fiorito, Jan Garber, Carmen Cavelero, Xavier Cugat, Ray Ventura, Bobby Hackett, and I am sure others. One more special person was Ina Ray Hutton and her all girl orchestra. Along with these many bands, there were a number of vocalists, primarily with the bigger bands. Some of the bands had both male and female vocalists while others featured just one. Bands changed vocalists for various reasons.

  Benny Goodman had Helen Forest, Martha Tilton, Peggy Lee, and Dick Haymes.  Glenn Miller’s vocalists were Marion Hutton and Ray Eberle. When Marion had a baby, Dorothy Claire stepped in, and when Ray Eberle left the band, another vocalist was picked up. These different singers were backed up by the vocalist group, the Modernaires. Tommy Dorsey’s great combination was Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford, and the Pied Pipers. Sinatra left early and Harry Cool took his place. Jimmy Dorsey had two of the best, Helen O’Connell and Bob Eberle. Doris Day got her start with Les Brown and his Band of Renown and stayed with him for quite a while. Stan Kenton and his new sounds featured June Christy while Kay Kyser’s vocalists were Ginny Sims and Harry Babbit. Vaughn Monroe was his own band’s vocalist, and Eddie Howard was featured with Dick Jurgens. Mel Torme, Tex Beneke, (Glenn Miller) and Don Cornell, were also singing with the bigger bands.

  The demise of the bands was probably brought on by loss of personnel in World War II and the increasing costs involved in traveling and other overhead expenses. However, this was an era when musicians who loved to play, worked together much to the happiness of their many fans.

Note: A lot of has been left out. My main hope was to remind us of a period of our life where there was a type of music that we and many other generations sadly won’t see again.